BPL trips out of Sale Lake City

I would as long as it was the weekend, perhaps fri evening to sunday evening which is pretty limiting.. I just started a great job and cant take any days off.

Hi Fitz,

I would be flying in from Michigan so would problay want make it 3 nights but I am also open for 2.

I am looking ahead to October/November.

Depending on my job situation I could totally be down for something like that. Keep me posted on dates and such…I have a feeling I'm going to be in a sad hiking state by then. My favorite time of year, too…..

It would be great if you could come Jen, you should stick this thread on your watch list.

I would be interested in that!

Nice one Steve.

I live in Salt Lake City and am very interested.

Hi Jeff,

Good to have you on board.

What are the conditions like in October normally?

Where exactly are you planning to go in the SLC region?

No idea yet Jeff, would like to spend as much time above treeline as possible.

Above tree line rules out the desert then, probably too far from SLC anyway. That late in the year the mountains are likely to have some snow unless you can make it in early October. For something fairly close to the city I would recommend the Uinta's. Most of the trail heads along the Mirror Lake highway in the Uinta's are about 1.5 – 2 hours away. If you have time for a 4 hour drive you could make it to the Winds. The Wasatch are right beside the city but not that great for backpacking.

How many days are you planning?

I am thinking 3 night Jeff, fly in Thursday morning and back out Sunday night.

I just moved back to SLC and am looking for people to hike with, what location did you have in mind?

edit: saw oct/ nov, still let me know as long as its not too cold I could make it.

Hi Michael,

No location as of yet, just trying to figure out interest first and will explorer dates and location.

Cheers,

Stephen

For that length of trip in Utah you will definitely want to hit the Uintah Mountains. I'm not sure of the snow conditions at the moment, but King's Peak is an obvious choice for that range as it is the highest point in Utah and a gorgeous hike to boot.

Cheers Sara,

How far is the drive from Salt Lake City?

Depends on what you are doing. If we are talking King's Peak, the most common trailhead is Henry's Fork, but to get to that you have to go up into Wyoming and back down into Utah, about a 3.5 hr drive if I remember correctly. There are additional trailheads that will take you there on the south of the Uintah range but they add more mileage and I'd have to look them up. Those trailheads are probably 2.5 hr away from Salt Lake City.

Another way to get to King's Peak is via the Highline trail starting from Mirror Lake (2 hr away fro m SLC). The bad news is that King's Peak is about 40 miles away! I only mention this because the Highline trail is one of the most scenic, desolate and scary thru hikes in the country (about 70 miles each direction), nearly 80% above the tree line, almost entirely above 10,000 ft, makes 8 summits and typically only accessible during the height of the monsoon season in the Uintas so lightning storms abound! One of the nice things about the Highline is that you can hike 2 days out and 2 days back and get in as much mileage as you want and plenty of scenery. There are so many lakes to dip your Tenkara rod in as well along the way!

If you are looking for more of a loop than an out-and-back there are plenty of those as well. Again, I'd have to look them up. Let me know if you'd like me to do some research for you.

Hi Sara,

Thanks very for your in depth reply, much appreciated.

The trip won't be until October or later so have plenty of time to organise routes.

Cheers,

Stephen

Also, it's definitely not a tarp, bivy and quilt type of climate :)

So tent and sleeping bag are in order.

Rain can be unexpected and vicious even in the middle of the summer, and it can still drop into the 20s or lower at night, especially in the late summer, early fall.

I just want to let you know that I'd be down for something intense like that. Count me in when the time comes…

I just looked at the flights and they over 500$, add car rental and one night in a hotel and its probaly going far too expensive for me.